Come and see our daily life on our milk sheep farm in Wallsee, Austria

Details

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  Description

  Hello everyone!
  
  We, Katharina (32) and Gerald (35), built a farm for our milksheep in 2016 - 2017. We started with 74 sheep, and now have 122 sheep.
  
  We both studied agricultural and livestock science at the university in Vienna, and afterwards we had the opportunity to take over my parents farm. We work in an organic way, which was very important to us, because we believe that there is a way to farm in a sustainable way.
  
  We have been traveling and done workaway stays before we started our lives as farmers. Today we are not able to travel so much because of our busy days with the sheep, so instead we want to invite other cultures and future friends to visit us. We offer a cultural experience, with an insight in our daily lives , for people whom are interested in the life on a busy sheep farm. We would love for you to become a part of our family, experience the way we live.
  
  So as mentioned we have sheep and out of their milk we produce different kinds of cheeses.
  Our products include: hard cheese, soft cheese, yoghurt fresh cheese, feta and ricotta. We are always curious to try new things.
  We make cheese about 2-3 times a week.
  You don't have to have any experience at cheese making or milking sheep or stuff like that. But if you do have some experience - perfect and we can exchange knowledge!
  
  Our daily work can for example include:
  - milking the sheep 2x
  - feeding the sheep 2-3x
  - feeding the lambs 2-3x
  - cheese making
  - cleaning up, repair things, ...
  - tractor work
  
  There are different kinds of work depending on the time of year, like in spring we get the lambs (births, feeding, etc.) and in summer we have to make hay,...
  We also to different stores to sell our cheeses, you are always welcome to accompany us and see this part of our work as well.
  
  There will be days that are more stressful than others and of course you can take some days off to explore what’s outside our farm. And also Vienna is only 1 hour with the train away, if you are interested in sightseeing. The schedule on the farm varies from week to week, so the more flexible you can be regarding weekend or weekdays off the better, but we will always be able to find a solution together.
  
  We have a dog - Fridolin - he is usually a nice boy, but he is 8 years and still full of energy. He always needs a walk outside with new people to get to know them. But once you are his friends, he will never forget you! So you shouldn't be afraid of dogs or allergic because he has long hair...
  if you adore dogs - perfect!!
  
  We have both our families come around a lot, to help with work or watch our two adorable kids! It is also a good opportunity for my dad to keep up his english and learn more vocabulary. :)
  
  We always have the meals together and if you like cooking we can always need some support and new ideas in the kitchen. Or just take over the kitchen if you are passionate about that, it is highly appreciated! We usually don't cook with meat, since Gerald is a vegetarian. I guess we would prefer someone who is not too picky... If you have a day off, of course you can eat with us but you can also decide to do something else.
  
  We have one or two spare rooms, depends if friends are over. We have an extra bathroom and toilet for you. And of course you can wash your clothes in our washing machine. We have bikes if you like to explore the surroundings and the danube is 15 min. away by bike, if you like to go for a swim.
  
  We have a piano and a guitar and always appreciate it if someone is into making music.
  
  We would take max. 2 people at a time, for at least 4 weeks, preferably longer :) We just had good experiences with longer stays, but it can happen that we will make an exception if it fits our schedule.
  
  So lately we thought of some cool art projects we want to do or we would encourage people to do here. because in the barn we have one wall which is still only bricks and we thought it would be awesome if somebody with artsy talent would have ideas and fun to change that...we have nothing specific in mind yet, just something we were thinking about.
  
  This year we would like to add a vegetable garden, we hope to be able to make time for it!!

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Gardening

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We live outside a small village, but still close to the danube and the village center (to reach by bike). If you need to go shopping, the bigger town is 15 min. by car. We have to go there some days per week to do shopping or to deliver cheese, so you can go with us. Or we can drive you to the train station and you can go e.g. to Linz, Vienna, Salzburg,... .
  
  If you are interested to learn some german, no problem, we can speak german if you want. Or you could learn our super funny austrian dialect.

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  - milking the sheep
  - feeding the sheep and lambs
  - repairing fences and other stuff
  - keeping the barn and milking room clean
  - cheese making
  - cleaning up cheese room
  - starting a family garden
  
  
  you don't need to be a professional farmer, we are here to teach you all the things you want to know!

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  So as already mentioned we have two spare rooms. We have an extra bathroom and toilet for you and also a seperate balcony if you like to spend a warm evening without us. So we can spend time together, but you are not forced to, you have your own space. And I guess after working all day together it may also be nice to have some time to oneself.
  
  We eat together at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
  If you want any snacks in between, we usually always have something at home, like chocolate, cookies, fruits, etc. The best thing would be if you just tell me your favorite things and I write them on our shopping list and we try to find them.

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  What else ...

  We both like to travel a lot, but now we don't have that much time to travel and so it's also for us nice to meet new people from all over the world, and keep our english as good as possible.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  we already hosted a digital nomad, our internet is always working fine and quick. so i think there would be no problems with that!

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  About 5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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